What happens when someone dies at home

In the first moments

You do not need to do anything immediately. You are allowed to sit with the person, grieve, and take whatever time you need before making calls. There is no legal requirement to act within minutes or hours.

If there was a palliative care team involved, they will have prepared you for this moment. Refer to whatever guidance they provided. Many teams have a number you can ring at any hour.

If there are others in the house, particularly children, take a moment to decide how to include them before making calls. There is no rush.

Who to call first

If the death was expected and there was a palliative care team involved, call them first. A nurse or doctor from the team can come to confirm the death, provide support, and guide you through the next steps.

If there was no palliative care involvement, call the person's GP. If the GP is unavailable outside hours, call a locum or after-hours GP service. healthdirect (healthdirect.gov.au, 1800 022 222, called NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria) is a free 24-hour line, answered by nurses, that can advise you on next steps when you are not sure who to call.

Do not call emergency services (000) unless the death was sudden, unexpected, or unattended and you do not know the cause. Calling 000 for an expected death brings paramedics, and sometimes police, who may start resuscitation or treat the death as one that needs investigating. When in doubt, call the GP or palliative care team first and ask.

The doctor's visit and death certification

Two separate things happen. First, someone confirms that the person has died. This is called verifying the death. A doctor can do it and, in many states, so can a registered nurse, such as the palliative care nurse, or a paramedic.

Second, a doctor completes the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). This must be a doctor who was treating the person before they died or who has examined them after death, and it is usually done within 48 hours. It does not always mean the doctor comes to the house. The certificate goes to the funeral director and the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry. You do not receive a copy of it.

If a doctor was treating the person in the months before the death, this is usually straightforward. They know the person's condition and can complete the certificate.

If no doctor is able to certify the cause of death, the death has to be reported to the coroner. This does not mean anything was wrong.

If the death was sudden or unexpected

If the death was unexpected, including situations where the cause is not immediately known, call 000. Police usually attend alongside paramedics. This is standard for any sudden death and does not suggest wrongdoing.

The death may then be reported to the coroner, whose office works out the cause of death. This can take longer than a straightforward expected death, and the funeral home will advise on timing.

If the death occurred under palliative care but outside the expected timeframe, call the palliative care team first. They will advise whether coronial notification is required.

Calling the funeral home

Once the death has been verified and you know which doctor will complete the certificate, you can call the funeral home to arrange collection of the person. There is no requirement to do this immediately. You can take several hours, or longer, if you need time with your family.

The funeral director will ask for the person's name, location, date of birth, and any specific wishes about how the body is to be cared for. They will handle everything from collection onwards.

If you have not yet chosen a funeral home, you have a little time. You do not have to use the first one you find. See our guide on choosing a funeral home for what to look for.

Paperwork to be aware of

The main document you need to know about is the death certificate, which is separate from the MCCD completed by the doctor. The death certificate is the official government document you will use to notify banks, superannuation funds, Centrelink, and other organisations.

The funeral director handles the registration of the death. Once it is registered, you can order the death certificate. Most organisations accept a certified copy of it, so a few certificates usually go a long way.

See the death certificates guide for more detail on how many to order and what each one is used for.

Looking after yourself and others in the house

The hours after a death at home can feel very long. People may come and go. You may feel numb, or you may feel everything at once. Both are normal.

Ask someone you trust to be with you if you can. Practical tasks, calls, and decisions can wait. The only things that genuinely cannot wait are calling the palliative care team or GP, and eventually calling the funeral home. Everything else can be done over the coming days.

If there are children in the house, include them in age-appropriate ways. Children cope better when they are told the truth simply and given small, manageable roles rather than being shielded from everything.

If you need support in the days ahead, Lifeline (13 11 14) is there around the clock. Griefline (griefline.org.au) has a phone line on weekdays and online forums open at any hour.